Their Legacy
by Crowlows19
Summary: When Tim Drake gets a blast from his past will he be able to hold on to the person he is or will he go back to the person he once was, before Robin? What secrets lie in Tim's past? What's the real reason he became Robin?
1. The Book

**Hey everybody! This is my first Fanfiction ever so be kind but constructive! **

**Usual disclaimers here, I don't own Batman or any other characters. A few of the events in this story will be from the Pretty Little Lairs series. Any character not found in Batman or the Pretty Little Lairs series is mine.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The package had been delivered to the Manor unexpectedly. Had he known she was planning on sending it to him he would have contacted her to tell her to keep it. That was way she didn't tell him about sending it, she just did.

Sari Montgomery knew Timmi Drake far too well. They'd been close once, a lifetime ago, before Payback and before the Jenna Thing. If Sari had to put a name on what or rather _who _broke up the friendship she'd say Ali. Sari had never really liked Ali or Traci, Ali's main flunky, but she'd been 'friends' with them because of Timmi, whom she'd known since preschool.

Before Payback there'd been six of them. Close, onseperable, brother and sisters in every way but blood or name. They'd all brought something unique to the table which was way they'd ruled for as long as they had. But things had changed and Ali had been the start. The group had documented pretty much everything about their friendship in a book. Ali's idea. All their secrets were in that book, every nasty, horrible thing they did, their legacy. Sari had been the last to have it but as she knew things change.

The book wasn't safe with her anymore and even though they weren't technically friends everyone had a duty to protect what was inside. She knew Timmi had the ability to keep it safe without exposing anything in it to anyone. So one afternoon she went to the UPS store, boxed it, and sent it to the big mansion on the hill just outside of Gotham City.

She felt a little guilty for bringing him back into this. Of them all Timmi had done the least to deserve Payback. He was a good person overall. She however was not and that was why the guilt was small and brief, just like always.

* * *

Tim could not believe she had the nerve to send the book to him. He'd never liked the idea of having it around and now it was back to haunt him. of course with the book being in his possession he knew it was safe and was probably best kept with him. Which was what Sari had been banking on.

"Still," he thought. "I can't believe she actually sent it to me. I was pretty clear about never wanting to see it and that I didn't want to talk to any of them ever again."

After the book had arrived, Tim spent the better part of a week typing up the secrets, burning each page as he finished. Reading it and typing it up, Tim realized just how bad the six of them were, how little conscience they had. Not that he could really blame them. They had all been little rich kids with all but nonexistent parents, yet everything handed to them on a silver platter. They'd been in any real trouble and on the rare occasion they'd been caught Daddy had bailed them out. Growing up with nannies who only cared about the paycheck, they'd never been taught things most parents drill into their kids, like the difference between right and wrong.

Tim knew he'd been lucky, he'd gotten out of it all and while Payback had affected him just as much he knew it could have been worse, just look at Ali. Unlike the rest of them he'd been born with a conscience and he'd found being Robin demanded it. Batman had taught him the life lessons he'd been missing and Tim had put the other five behind him.

At least he thought he had but seeing everything they'd done brought up old memories and some of them literally made him feel sick. Putting the finishing on touches on the computerized book, he encrypted the file and powered down. He then destroyed the last of the book and picked up his cell phone to fire off a text to Sari.

_The books protected. Y send it 2 me?_

The response was almost immediate.

_U have power 2 keep it safe. U no that._

_I old u a long time ago. I didn't want it._

_Then send it 2 Traci._

_Yeah like that's gonna happen._

_Then stop whining._

_Y can't u keep it?_

_Not as safe here._

_Explain?_

_Some1 wants it bad. They no some stuff they shouldn't. Seemed legit and it spooked me._

_Who was it?_

_Idk_

_How do u no some1 wanted the book?_

_they sent me message. Want me 2 foreward?_

_Yes._

Tim waited impatiently foreward to come through, fearing what it would say and not quite sure what he would do about Sari. Talking with her had seemed effortless, like old times, when they'd been like family. The only family he'd ever really known at that point.

Bzzzz. He looked at the foreward and felt pure shock. This couldn't be happening.

_Hello Sari dear. U don't no me but I no u and thats all that matters Im here 2 stay and Im here 2 play Im going 2 expose everything in that book Let the games begin )_

_-A_

A? Tim checked the original number but it was of course blocked. Brilliant. If this A person knew about the book did they also know what was inside? He prayed they didn't, for their sake if anything. Sari had sent the book to him out of fear. Could he keep it safe? That all depended on who A was. With what was inside it wasn't a leap to think that a powerful person or even a supervillian was after it. His phone buzzed again as Sari texted him.

_What do u think? Legit?_

_Idk but treat it like it is_

_Usound like a cop_

_Better than a criminal_

_Was that a joke?_

_I think u no S_

_I do T thats the sad part_

_Whatever_

_Whatever_

* * *


	2. Brotherly Worry

"Tim, you've been acting a little weird lately. You okay?" Dick had noticed the change in the teen's demeanor over the last month or so. He knew Tim wouldn't talk about it but he figured he'd try anyway.

"Yeah I guess. Just been thinking about some stuff," the boy replied still staring at the math book spread out on the kitchen table.

Dick felt his eyebrows rise slightly. He'd been expecting an outright buzz off. Was the kid just distracted or did he honestly feel the need to talk?

"Thinking about what?" he asked.

"Friends," came the simple reply.

"Meaning?"

"Have you ever done something and then buried it only to have it reappear and come and bite you in the ass?" The question was one of the most random he'd ever heard from Tim. And he'd talked to the kid when he had a sugar high.

"What do mean?" he asked, completely missing the kid's point.

"Have you ever been blackmailed?" Tim asked looking straight into Dick's eyes.

"Kinda, why? Are you being blackmailed?"

Tim paused, not exactly sure how to ask his big brother for help in shutting down the blackmailer without telling him about the book.

"Tim?"

"Yeah," he finally replied. "I'm being blackmailed."

"About what?" Dick asked, not entirely sure Tim even had any good dirt on him to begin with. All the boy did was shrug.

"The shrug isn't going to cut it," Dick said gathering his inner Batman to squeeze a decent answer from the kid.

"I, uh, kinda did some stuff a really long time ago. I can't really tell you about it," Tim said squirming in his chair.

"Why not?"

"I promised I wouldn't," he replied.

"Promised who?"

"A friend."

"What friend, Tim?" Dick was quickly losing patience with the nondescript answers he was getting. This was an interrogation Bruce should be handling, not him.

"Her name's Sari. We grew up together," Tim said easily sensing Dick wanted longer answers. He never should have said anything. It wasn't like he could show Dick the book. Sari had sent it to him to keep it a secret, not blab about it to the first person asked a question about it. Still, it was hard keeping secrets from Dick, the guy was his big brother and he was usually the first person Tim called when he wanted to talk about something.

"You've never mentioned her before," Dick said cutting into Tim's thoughts.

"Never had a reason to."

"What? You two aren't close?"

Tim shook his head. "Not anymore," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Sari and I used to be like family but we started hanging out with some people, some things happened, and we all ended up not talking to each other anymore," he explained, sort of. Dick decided to let go for now.

"Ok, so what, now Sari's back?" he asked.

"Yeah, kinda. I haven't actually seen her but we've texted."

"Nice, so how does that tie with the blackmail?"

"I can't tall you," Tim said looking a bit uncomfortable. Dick just raised his eyebrows at the kid.

"You will eventually and I'd prefer it was before something bad happened," Dick more or less commanded.

"I don't know Dick, it's pretty bad," Tim said.

"How bad?"

"Some say Arkham worthy, in fact they have," Tim said. The answer just caused Dick to be more concerned. What was going on?

"Like what?' he asked not entirely sure he really wanted to know the answer but knew he'd never live with himself if he didn't find out.

"Well I kinda witnessed someone do something really bad and I never reported it. Now that person has been missing for three years and I think someone's after me and my old friends. I don't know what to do."

"You have no idea who it is?" Dick asked thinking that if Tim couldn't figure out their identity something was definitely wrong.

"No," Tim replied. "And I can't even guess who it might be. The only people who know wouldn't want it to get out."

"Well, clearly someone else knows," Dick said.

"Yeah I kinda figured," Tim snorted and rolled his eyes at the way obvious statement. Dick didn't respond and Tim could tell he was thinking hard.

"Tim what are you being blackmailed for?" Dick finally asked.

"I can't tell you," Tim said yet again.

"Yeah so you've said, but you need to tell me," Dick told him, fed up that the kid wouldn't talk. Was it that bad? Time just shook his head and gathered up his stuff.

"Sorry D, but I really can't. I made a promise," he said then turned and walked out of the room, leaving a puzzled and worried Dick Grayson behind.

_Hey Timmi! If you're such a good detective, then why is Ali still missing? Come on Boy Wonder, go find her. You know you want to. _

_-A_


	3. Ali's Home

The next morning Alfred trooped up the stairs to the young master's room. Tim hadn't come down for breakfast and Alfred had assumed he'd simply overslept. However, once the old butler had stepped into the teen's room that notion was quickly banished.

It was obvious Tim had left in a hurry. His closet door and various drawers of his desk and dresser were all open, their contents littering the floor. His computer, cell phone, and various other things were gone. Alfred's mind raced quickly; the security in the manor impassable; surly the boy hadn't runaway. He then noticed the piece of paper on the bed and strode over quickly, snatching it up.

_B & A,_

_Had to take care of something with some old friends. I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry. I'll be fine._

_-Tim_

The note was short and despite Tim's assurances Alfred was instantly worried. Five minutes later Bruce was in the cave tracking Tim through the transponders he kept in all the boy's electronics. It took less than a minute to triangulate the signal. Tim was still in the neighborhood, at a house just a couple of miles down the road. Bruce remembered when he'd done a little research on the boy just after he'd first appeared on the scene. The only reference of him in police databases was a witness in the case of a missing girl. Bruce had guessed they were friends from what he'd read in the report but Tim had never brought it up and Bruce had never asked.

Nevertheless, that was where Tim was, at the girl's old home. Ali Hamilton, missing four years, presumed dead, a cold case that had no leads to begin with.

"Well?" Dick asked. He'd been in Manor crashing in one of the spare bedrooms after wrapping a case in Gotham.

"He's just down the road," Bruce replied.

"Really? Where?"

"The old Hamilton house," Bruce told him, his eyes still on the screen. "Do you know why?" Bruce knew Dick was the person Tim told almost everything to.

"He said he was being blackmailed but he never said by who or why," Dick said, knowing that now was not the best time to leave his mentor out of the loop. Bruce instantly brought up all of Tim's emails, texts, and IMs from the last six months.

"You read his messages?" Dick asked, clearly not liking the fact that Bruce would do that. Sure Tim was a teen superhero who'd been in his fair share of trouble but the kid deserved some privacy.

"Only when I have to," Bruce said. Dick let the subject figuring the man only did it in parent mode not spying mode, although sometimes it was a little hard to tell the difference.

Over the next hour they read over a month's worth of texts from someone only named 'A'. The person would only text and as time went on the messages began to reviel just how much they knew about Tim. The most shocking was that they knew Tim was Robin.

"Who would possibly know that?" Dick asked his voice betraying his shock.

"I don't know," Bruce said, his voice cold and calculating. "Come on," he said getting up and heading for the stair.

"Where?"

"We need to talk to Tim."

* * *

Being there was creepy; there was no doubt about it. Tim couldn't believe he'd willingly come to Ali's old home. The Hamiltons had long moved to penthouse in the city but had never sold this house. Tim guessed they'd moved to escape the memories. He knew what that felt like; he thoroughly did not want to be there either.

The house had been stripped. Any furniture that couldn't be taken or sold had been dumped. The only room left untouched was Ali's. They hadn't had the heart to go in, much less touch anything. Tim sat on the white leather desk chair staring at Sari sitting on the purple duvet covering the king sized sleigh bed.

The girl hadn't really changed in the last four years. Her hair was still a pencil straight, raven wing black with blonde, blue, green, and pink streaks. It still reached the small of her back and her chin length bangs would still stray in front of her grey eyes. She still wore multicolored skater shoes, a small black hoodie that barely covered her navel, and tight black jeans. It was nice to know some things never changed.

She glanced up at him after reading the latest 'A' text.

"So," she said calmly. "Miki was right, you really are Robin."

"Yes," he answered. It was pointless to keep it from Sari at this point, he needed her help with 'A' and, honestly, he knew she'd heard about it.

"Timmi this is bad," she said.

"I know Sari," he replied.

"How much more do you think they know?"

"You mean about the others?" he asked getting an almost frantic nod in reply. Tim honestly didn't know. It wasn't a huge jump from to Bruce and Dick, but hopefully it would be harder to figure out the others. "I don't know Sari, I really don't" he finally told her shaking his head.

"That really scares you don't it?" she asked.

All he could do was nod. Of course he was scared. 'A' was threatening his whole life. He was terrified of what the hero community would say if they found out. Found out who he was really, what'd he'd done, and why he'd become Robin. There was a past in his life he'd never shared with his current family or his biological family at that. But now 'A' had brought it all up again and Tim wasn't too sure if he could handle a reunion with his old friends; the kids he'd first called family before he'd learned differently. He looked at Sari again; of all the kids, he'd parted on goodish terms with her only. She'd been there when he'd fallen into a deep hole and had helped him long enough for him to become Robin, his real life line. He'd be dead now if wasn't for her.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked him softly.

"Whoever this is has to be shut down," he said.

"Okay, hero," she said with a small smile. He grinned back. "Where do we start?"

"We have to get the others," he told her.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

_Join the club._


	4. Traci and Miki

Traci's house was the same as ever: huge, richly decorated, and empty. The only sign that real people lived there was in the bedrooms of the two kids who rarely saw each other, even if they lived in the same house. There were no photos, the family was never together long enough to take one. There were no pets; no one would take care of them. There were no parents; they were living the high life in Europe. There were two kids and the staff, but otherwise the house was empty of all life. There was no happiness here, just anger and regret. Tim couldn't stand it.

He couldn't stand that these people were back in his life. He'd left it all behind for a reason; a _good_ reason. After Payback, he'd had to throw away everything even remotely connected with these kids. He could still barely think of them without feeling sick to his stomach.

"God, it's just like her to keep us waiting," Sari commented dryly.

"It's her thing," Tim replied. They'd been led into the formal sitting area of the house to wait for Traci to make her appearance; they'd been waiting 45 minutes and Sari was losing patience. When the girl did appear Tim saw instantly how much she'd changed, much more than Sari. She'd lost her cute little girl image and was now a high-fashioned slut. There was no other way to describe her. Had she been anyone else Tim would have been captivated (he was a teenager!) but he only felt contempt.

"Nice of you to show up," Sari said coldly and Traci smirked.

"Nice to see you to," she replied. "Now, what are you doing here?" The question was directed more towards Tim than Sari. Sari had left quietly; Tim had told Traci to rot in hell, amongst other things.

"We needed to talk to you," he told her and watched her eyebrows rise, an invitation to continue. "It's about the book."

Traci tensed only slightly but both kids caught it. The group had longed trained themselves not to give away too much, to show a weakness. The skill was useful in shark tank of Gotham's elite and in the world of Robin.

"What do you mean?" Traci asked.

"Have you ever gotten a message from 'A'?" Sari asked cutting to the chase.

"Yes," Tracie said obviously confused as to how they would know. "Why?"

"We've been getting messages too," Tim said. "Most of them are about Ali."

"Yeah mine too," Traci replied. "You don't think they know what happened to her do you?" Tim and Sari glanced at each other; they always forgot how smart Traci could be when she was sober.

"We don't know," Sari replied truthfully. "But we do need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes. Whoever this is knows way more than they should," Tim said. "It's someone who knows us. We all knew different people and we all had enemies. We need what you know."

"What about the other two?" Traci asked.

"I'll go get Miki later," Tim said. There was no need to say how; everyone in the room knew who he was.

"And Toby's as good as dead to me," Sari said rather roughly. Traci nodded and turned to go get a few things, she knew this would take more than an afternoon and, honestly, nobody would know if she left. She left the room and Tim suddenly had a distinct sinking feeling, one he knew well. Getting the entire clique in one place; nothing good had ever come of it.

* * *

When Bruce and Dick arrived at the empty Hamilton home, they found it just that, empty. Tim had already come and gone leaving behind his cell phone, Ipod, and computer. The boy wasn't stupid; he knew Bruce had put transponders in them.

The two had found them in girl's old room. The missing girl. From what they could find, which was next to nothing, Ali had disappeared after hanging out with friends. She'd decided to walk home but never made it. They had searched for weeks; her father screamed to every cop in town; they'd found nothing.

The case was strange. There was no ransom, no witnesses, no suspects, no clues of any kind. The fact that there was nothing was what made it so strange, there was _always_ something. Dick couldn't decide if it was missing too or just buried.

"What do you think?" Dick asked.

"It's obvious Tim left because of something to do with this girl. She was never found. 'A' wants her to be," Bruce replied voicing his thoughts.

"Do you think "A' could have something to do with the girl's disappearance?" he asked. Bruce nodded.

"It's possible they have everything to do with it."

"I don't know, maybe we just let Tim handle this one," Dick said. Dick knew Tim liked his space when dealing with things, especially personal problems.

"I don't think so," Bruce told him.

"Why?"

"This has a potential to get ugly Dick, in more ways than one."

* * *

4 YEARS AGO

Ali ran for all she was worth. She knew if she stopped she'd be dead. Dead as a doornail. She crashed through the underbrush. If she could just make it to the next house she'd be okay. Mr. Wayne was a nice man, so was Mr. Pennyworth.

Ali saw the gates and pressed on. She never reached them; she never even reached the road.

* * *

Broken and bleeding Ali walked along the road in a complete daze. She wasn't coherent, she wasn't aware. She turned into the woods and kept walking until her legs gave out and she collapsed.

She hurt so bad, she wasn't used to pain. She couldn't move and through her haze she felt a tingle of panic. The girl began to shiver violently; she was going into shock. She fought the blackness for as long as she could but eventually she had to give up. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to go in unconsciousness.

* * *

Mrs. Hamilton called everyone the next day in a complete panic. Ali hadn't come home; had anyone seen her, did anyone know where she was? The group's first instinct was to lie, to cover for her.

The cops were called and the four remaining friends were brought into the station for questioning. They left out information. Everyone loved Ali; no one would hurt her; she was a good person; all lies all told. They knew it was a lie, they knew they had enemies. There worst was a friend who had fallen from grace during the Jenna thing. Another story left untold.

Timmi Drake had often wondered if their silence had been Ali's end. But they were so unaccustomed to truth, to telling it or hearing it. Even if Timmi could bring himself to tell the truth, the words would have caught in his throat.

So the truth remained buried. If Ali's friends had been any different it all would have come out. But nothing happened and the four remaining kids did what they were taught; they lied and they hid. Ali was never found; there were no suspects, no leads, no clues simply because there were no truths.

For the one member who went on to become a hero and a symbol, this was the ultimate sin. He allowed Payback to come because at that point there was no stopping it and he knew they deserved it.

Ali went missing.

Sari lost her fortune.

Miki lost his sanity.

Timmi lost his parents.

Tobi lost his good name.

Traci lost her happiness.

They all lost something, they all suffered, and they had no one to blame but themselves.

* * *

A sixteen year old boy stared blankly at the padded wall of his cell. He was in Arkham. He never talked and, unlike so many of the other here, he never screamed. He'd been there for a few years now and he'd seen his fair share of breakouts, some of them mass, thanks to the Joker. However, he never left, never tried to. The people with the pills always joked that he was the one person who actually _wanted_ to be there. They were mistaken.

Miki Rogers did not want to be in Arkham Asylum. He just nowhere safe to go. There was a reason he'd always called his friends his family and his family _them_. There was no else but his friends. Unfortunately, they'd all gone their separate ways during Payback. Some quietly, some not.

He remembered the last time he'd spoken; it had been to Timmi Drake, the now Wayne spare. At that point he'd already stopped talking to everyone else and Arkham was already being looked into. He'd been wandering the streets of Gotham trying not to go home when he saw Robin in action for what could have been the millionth time. What was different were Robin's moves; he knew them, not from all the superhero fights he'd witnessed as a native Gothamite but personally. Timmi Drake was Robin.

The other boy had turned and seen Miki and both knew the secret was out. Timmi had left in a hurry only to visit Miki later.

It was the last time they spoke to each other and the last time Miki had spoken at all. However, Miki knew he'd see them again, all of them, the truth of Ali's disappearance wouldn't stay buried forever. Ali couldn't be forgotten, not by anyone who knew her at least. He knew in his heart that some things just didn't go away and that the past would come back to bite them in the ass. But he also knew that this truth wouldn't come easy, not without being forced. That was way he was unsurprised when Robin broke him out of Arkham.


	5. Enter the Titans

Getting into Arkham had been easy. Stealing the Batplane had been easy. Getting out of Gotham had been easy. Getting everyone to San Francisco had been easy. Trying to explain to the Teen Titans why three civilians would be at the Tower that weekend, not so easy. It didn't help that Cyborg was still there.

"Okay, explain this again," the half- robot said.

Tim, who was out of costume much to the surprise of his team, heaved a sigh. "I can't really explain it," he said. "They just need to stay here awhile."

"Why?' Wonder Girl asked. It was a simple question but it was one Tim could never really answer, not fully.

"We just need somewhere to stay for about two days and then they'll leave," he said. Tim knew Batman would know about the random Arkham breakout and fit the pieces to together. He knew Bruce would be royally pissed off, which was something he couldn't deal with on top of everything else. Between Bruce, Dick, and Barbara there was no place in Gotham he could go without being found too quickly. That left titans Tower; it wasn't like his old friends didn't already know.

"We'll ask again, why?" Cyborg said.

"Why indeed," Traci said and every head turned in her direction. They were still in the Tower's entryway and Traci, Miki, and Sari were all sitting on the edge of the fountain. Once Traci had center stage she spoke again, "It isn't really any of your business why we're here which is why Timmi isn't saying shit." Tim could have killed her.

"Oh, shut up Traci," Sari snapped. "Like you have any idea what's in Tim's head."

"Oh, and you do?" Traci spat.

"More than you," Sari replied. And they were off. Tim just rolled his eyes at the girls and turned back to the Titans.

"If you must know, a friend of mine went missing a few years back and we're just trying to fit the pieces together," he told them.

"What friend?" Wonder Girl asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Her name was Ali," Tim supplied but that was all he could bring himself to say.

* * *

_Two Hours Later_

With Traci and Sari shooting death glares at each other across the table and Blue Beatle attempting to talk to Miki the dinner was highly tense. After Beatle's ninth question to Miki Sari finally said, "He doesn't talk. To anyone."

"Why?" Eddie asked.

"Because he's a nutcase, that's why," Traci said.

"Shut up Traci," Tim snapped, sick of hearing her voice.

"Why don't you?" she snapped back.

"Because he's not being a bitch," Sari said. The two girls glared at each other each refusing to look away.

"Um, so Tim," Beatle said, clearly uncomfortable. "Is there anything we can do to help you guys figure this out?"

"Thanks Blue," Tim said. "But no there's nothing you can do." The last thing he needed was for the Titans to find out about what had happened between him and his old friends.

"C'mon fearless leader, it looks like you could really use some help," Eddie said, glancing at the still glaring girls.

"I'll be okay," Tim said, more to himself than to his team.

"Tim," Cassie started but was interrupted.

"Ohmigod," practically shouted. "Leave him the fuck alone! He obviously doesn't want you poking your nose into our business!"

"Sari!" Tim said harshly, warning her not to continue.

"What? It's true," she told him.

"It's okay," Cassie said quickly. Turning to Sari she said, "Tim's a friend and a member of the Titans. We just want to make sure he's okay."

"Ali's missing!" Traci screeched. "Of course, he's not okay Wonder Bitch!" Tim could no longer look at anyone at the table out of sheer embarrassment. He did however, notice Miki slide under the table and was unsurprised when he felt the blond boy lean against his legs. Miki never had handled confrontation all that well. Tim blamed the boy's parents for that.

"Hey!" Cyborg intervened. "That's enough!"

"Butt out walking computer!" Traci said.

"What is your problem?" Eddie asked.

"Problem?" Sari laughed. "There's no problem."

"Then why are you acting like this?" Cassie asked. She'd dealt with Rose long enough to not be concerned about Traci and Sari. This behavior no longer shocked her; it just made her sad.

"Acting like what?" Traci dared her.

"Like a bitch," Cassie replied.

"I'm not acting like a bitch," Traci said. Tim saw where this going almost immediately. Traci was the type of girl who could spin a shouting match on a person with incredible ease. The girl knew who to effectively use someone's weak points against them and she had no problem in doing so. Tim had always thought Traci had been born without a conscience.

It was common knowledge that Wonder Girl and Superboy had been an item. Tim knew Traci was setting Cassie up for the ultimate sting.

"Traci, stop," he growled at her summoning his inner-Batman. She ignored him completely unfazed.

"You are acting like a bitch," Cassie said.

"Drop dead," Traci replied. Her expression went from one of cold fury to one of delighted surprise. "Oh! Then you and Superboy really will be the perfect couple!" Shocked silence was her only reply and Traci smirked. Cassie visibly tensed before getting up and leaving the room in silence. "Aw, is poor Wonder Slut gonna cry?" Traci cooed as Cassie left. Tim couldn't lift his eyes, the rest of the team were to shocked to speak.

Cyborg left after Cassie to go and comfort her. Beatle and Eddie couldn't even move as they stared in horror at Traci wondering why Tim hadn't done anything to stop the girl. Sari just laughed at the entire situation.

The remark had been cruel, but had Tim expected. Kindness, humility? Not from these girls. It was just like old times.

* * *

_3 Years Ago_

The tape was sent directly to Traci Marx. No ever saw it but her. The girl had been violently ill after seeing it. It was a recording of the last night she had ever seen Ali. Miki had his camcorder, like always, and, like always, it was recording.

Some one was toying with her, Traci was sure of it. Traci resented Ali as much as the next person but this was cruel. To remind her of her once best friend; to think that this home made video was of her last moments.

It wasn't that which had made her literally sick with worry. There was something very wrong. Traci knew if this video ever found its way to Timmi she'd be screwed. There was something there, something they'd all forgotten about almost before it was even over. It was so insignificant and yet it could expose everything. It was there and Traci knew how good of a detective Timmi was; she knew he'd but the pieces together almost instantly.

So Traci did the only thing she could think of; she hid it. The only evidence, the only clue, to what had happened that night Traci hid and did her best to forget about.

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed! Please review!


	6. Nationwide Search

"He's not there. Where's the next place?" Batman was quickly getting frustrated by this. Tim didn't seem to be anywhere in Gotham City and even though it would have been difficult to believe, he was worried.

"That was the last one, sorry B," Oracle replied through the comm link.

"Nightwing, do you have anything?" Batman asked.

"No, nothing," his former partner replied. "I think we should expand the search area. Tim knows how to hide from us."

"How far?" Oracle asked, fingers poised above the keys on her keyboard ready to work her magic.

"Expand to the entire East Coast," Batman said. "Every safe house and any of the homes of superheroes and their families."

"You got it boss."

* * *

_Titans Tower_

The four native Gothamites watched a comedy that didn't make them laugh each thinking on how they'd come to this. Four ex-social elites chased out of their own town by someone they'd never even seen. Granted that someone was sending texts that held information they had no right to know and threatening to expose them but it still didn't lessen the sting. The stress 'A' was putting on them wasn't helped by the fact that they were once again in the same room. Tim privately marveled at the fact that nobody was dead yet.

The mood in Titans Tower was tense with Sari and Traci making it their personal mission to make everyone as uncomfortable as possible. Cassie was their main target as she had stood up to them the night before. Traci and Sari weren't use to being fought like that; every other girl they'd come across had always backed down at the mere mention of their names. Cassie hadn't and they were determined to break her in one way or another. Tim had wished them look; tougher people had tried and failed.

Miki had taken to staring at Red Devil when ever he happened to be in the room. Nobody why he would do this as he didn't seem scared of Eddie like other civilians. He would just stare at him blankly. This shad quickly kept Eddie from coming anywhere near them as he didn't like the feeling of being under a microscope.

Cyborg had yet to bring up the dinner incident with Tim and the boy prayed he never would. He didn't feel like explaining nor did he intend to apologize on Sari and Traci's behalf. Not to mention the fact that he barely had the stomach to bring it up himself.

Blue Beatle had gone back home for the rest of the weekend. When Tim had asked him why he'd said that he couldn't handle drama like that and that he'd be back when the other were gone. Tim felt a little guilty but brushed it off; he had more things to worry about than Beatle's aversion to drama. All in all, it had been a very awkward day.

"I'm bored,' Traci suddenly said. Tim almost shuddered at the girl's words. Nothing ever good happened when Traci was bored. It was a fact of life, like saying the Joker was crazy.

"Entertain yourself," Sari said, sounding as bored as Traci had just confessed.

"Wanna watch another movie?" Tim asked.

"No," both girls replied at the same time. That was when Cassie walked into the room and Tim watched an evil smile spread on Traci's face. It was the same smile every girl at Brixton Academy had always feared.

"Hey, Wonder Lazy," Traci called to her. Cassie's eyes only narrowed in response. "Where have you been all day?"

"None of your business," Cassie spat at her. Traci only smirked.

"Manners Wonder Whore," Traci replied.

"Shut up, Traci," Tim said finally having enough. Traci was close to overstepping her bounds; the Titans were his friends and Cassie was one of his best.

"Make me hero," Traci challenged. The two glared at each other and Cassie discreetly slipped out of the room.

"Oh my god, will the two of you stop already!" Sari screeched catching the two teens off guard. "We used to be friends!"

"You honestly expect us to still be?' Traci asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Sari said sadly. "I guess not."

"How can we be? Ali was our glue," Tim said.

"That's depressing," Traci snorted. The three of them started to giggle, then laugh, and the next thing they knew they could barely breathe. Even Miki had small smile on his face though he was still staring at the wall, like he had been for most the day.

Tim couldn't really say why they were laughing so hard. What he'd said had been true. Ali had brought six kids with very different personalities together and had ultimately kept them friends until the bitter end. They'd all had family problems and none of them were very happy but together they'd made a family. A rather twisted family with mixed up morals but a family nonetheless. When the girl had disappeared the weaknesses in their friendships become apparent to them and from there everything had fallen apart.

They grew serious again each thinking the same thing until Sari voiced it. "What happened to us?"

"Who knows?" Tim replied. "We gave up and we brought it on ourselves."

"How can you say that?" Traci asked suddenly angry. "Yeah we did some bad shit to some people but we don't deserve this."

"Don't deserve what, Traci? Karma?' Sari asked. "All our lives we ignored the Golden Rule and now it's come to bite us in the ass. Besides, the only one of us who even tried to make it right was Timmi,"

"You don't know that," Traci said. Sari stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

"What are you talking about? You know who he is!" Sari told her.

"Yeah, and I've heard the rumors. Disappearing Robins, dead allies, gang fights. Who knows? Timmi could be a serial killer for all we know."

"You're insane!" Sari yelled at her. "You know Timmi. You know he'd never do anything like that."

"You clearly don't know what insane is," Traci replied standing up from the couch; Sari quickly followed. "And that's just pathetic since Miki is the poster boy for insanity."

"Leave him out of this bitch!" Sari screamed.

"Don't tell me what to do you poor whore!" Traci yelled back.

"Slut!"

Tim stood up and left the room. When the door closed he leaned against the wall listening to the shouts of the two ex-best friends. Sari was right; they'd never followed the Golden Rule and in the end Payback had been a bitch. Tim had swallowed his and kept on. It hadn't been easy but at least he'd never been truly close to his parents. That would have it much harder.

_Bzz. Bzz. _Tim pulled the buzzing phone he'd bought after leaving his old one, complete with transponder, at Ali's old home. As he read the message his blood ran cold.

_Doesn't look good Timmi. Is it eating at you? The memories? The guilt? It can all go away. Grow a backbone. TELL THE TRUTH!!_

_-A_

The guilt was there, it came with the memories. Tim felt his eyes well up; this couldn't be happening. He blinked away the tears as he heard a lamp shatter against the wall. It was shaping out to be a major fight. One he didn't want to be apart of.

So he did the only thing that felt natural. He turned his back and he ran.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Cassie shouted to Cyborg as they ran down the hall towards the distinct sounds to a chaotic fight.

"I don't know!" he shouted back. "But I've had enough of these two girls." Cassie made a noise of agreement. The door to the room to the slid open and the two Titans entered hurriedly only to find a scene of chaos.

The room was a mess; Cassie saw that the TV screen was broken having had a popcorn bowl thrown at it. Sari and Traci were fighting recklessly not caring what they destroyed. They were currently jockeying for control of a floor lamp each trying to throw the girl's grip off and thus gaining a weapon. Miki was on the couch watching the fight emotionlessly and Tim was nowhere to be seen.

Vic and Cassie quickly intervened, separating the two girls. They couldn't calm them down though.

"I can't believe you!" Sari shouted. "Are you honestly that blind?"

"Me? What about you?'

"What about me?" Sari screamed sounding offended.

"Are you honestly so in love with him that you'll believe anything he says? He's the best lair of all of us!"

"Fuck you, Traci!"

The two heroes stood watching the two civilians scream at each other for a few more minutes before Cyborg finally lost his patience. "That's it," he said. "I'm calling Nightwing. He can deal with his brother's problems. I've had enough."

"You think that'll do any good?" Cassie asked following him out of the room.

"I doubt it," he replied. "But we have to try. At this rate they'll destroy the entire living quarters and give everyone migraines."

"I don't think Tim wants Nightwing to know," Cassie said. "There has to be a reason he brought them here."

"I don't really care at this point Cass. This has gotten out of control."

* * *

Tim had needed the break more than he'd thought. Being with his old friends had him on edge, probably because he couldn't read them. At least, not like he'd been able to before. He could read Bruce better than he could read these kids and that was unsettling.

Tim had left the Tower and spent the afternoon in the city even stooping a few small crimes. He'd changed back to civvies on his way back though. Just because his ex-friends knew he was Robin didn't mean he'd wear the costume around them; it was too creepy and he didn't feel like he deserved it at this point. He held too much guilt.

Tim didn't know how much longer he could do this. It was getting harder and harder to remember why he was Robin and they'd only been together again for two days! These kids had an effect on him no other person could ever have but he couldn't explain how, even to himself.

He walked into the kitchen to see a scene he'd never thought possible. But what was normal about any of this situation?

Traci was at the sink dabbing a bloodied lip with a wet towel. Miki was sitting cross legged on the island. Sari was sitting at the table an icepack to her forehead. Sitting across the table was Nightwing, Cyborg, and Cassie. Tim froze not quite sure how to process the collision of these two lives both of which were his. This was just weird.

"Hey kiddo," Nightwing said.

"Nightwing," Tim replied a little more stiffly than he usually did when talking with his big brother. "When'd you get here?'

"Cyborg called me a couple of hours ago," he said by way of reply. Tim didn't say anything.

"Where you been, Houdini? We missed ya," Traci said from the sink.

"Fuck you," Tim told her.

"Oh, come one Timmi. I thought we were past all that," she replied faking innocence.

"We ain't past shit, Traci," he spat at her. Traci opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

"Quite," Nightwing said coldly, sounding more like Batman than Tim ever could. "Get your stuff, you're all leaving for Gotham so we can figure this out."

"Thank god," Sari breathed.

"Yeah we are so over this place," Traci said. "I heard teen heroes were supposed to be cool. False!"

"Shut up, Traci," Tim said a little defensively. He was a teen hero after all.

"Whatever," she replied. All four of them left the room quietly to go get their things. Nightwing followed Tim to his room and shut the door for some privacy.

"What the hell Tim?" he said. "We've been looking everywhere for you." Great, more guilt. Tim didn't answer. "Why bring them here?'

"Because you didn't know they knew," he replied stuffing things back into his backpack. "You'd never think of here." He was right, they hadn't.

"Did you tell them?" Nightwing asked.

"No," Tim said defensively. "I'm not stupid."

"Didn't say you were," Nightwing replied. "How do they know then?"

"Miki told them," Tim replied bitterly. He still wasn't quite over that sting.

"The mute kid?" Nightwing said.

"He wasn't always mute," Tim replied and left the room heading for the roof. When they got to the roof Tim was surprised to see only one Batplane, the one he'd taken. He looked at Nightwing for an answer.

"I took the JLA teleporter," he said with a shrug.

The four kids climbed in while Nightwing took the controls. Before the glass hood could close Traci shouted a good bye to Cassie, who'd followed them out.

"Hope you take my advice, Wonder Whore! It'll really help with the romance with Superboy!" Nightwing with confused shock all over his face. Tim closed his eyes and prayed for a silent ride home. He got his wish.

_Welcome home guys! Now that you're back in Gotham I think it's only fair to warn you. Toby's coming home! Don't kill each other!_

_-A_

Hope everyone enjoyed! Reviews please!

* * *


	7. Toby

Tense. That was the only way to describe the atmosphere in the Manor. Tim had been lectured for so long he was surprised Bruce didn't have a raw throat. Traci and Sari had been able to maintain an uneasy peace while in the powerful man's home. Unfortunately it lasted for about five minutes. The two girls could simply not be in the same room for more than five minutes.

Tim had never really known why they hated each other so much. There had always been secrets within the group; it was probably one of the biggest reasons they'd fallen apart. Ali had been the only one to know everything so when she'd disappeared and the fact that so many secrets existed between them came to light, their trust in each other had evaporated.

On top of all that, Toby was back. He'd already been sighted in Gotham according to Traci's gossip sources. Tim wondered how long it would be before he showed up. He wasn't looking forward to that; he and Toby had had a massive fall out. One he would never forget or forgive.

Traci and Sari had taken to avoiding each other unless they were looking for a fight, which was most of the time. Emotions were running high and the two girls saw fit to take their emotions out on each other. Miki had taken to hiding in closets, something that disturbed Bruce, Dick, and Alfred to no end. Tim, Sari, and Traci were too used to it to care.

"Why does he do that?" Dick asked the third morning they were there.

"Do what?" Tim replied not even bothering to glance up from his Apple Dapples. They two brothers were the only people in the kitchen at the moment with the girls still asleep, Bruce in the cave, Alfred somewhere else, and Miki in the broom closet across the hall.

"Hide in closets," Dick said. Tim glanced up at the man across the table.

"It's all the fighting," he said. "He's trying to get away from it."

"By hiding in the closet?" Dick asked still not getting it. Tim nodded.

"It's how he got away from his parents," Tim said. "He was in Arkham for a reason." Dick let the subject drop after that clearly not wanting to open that can of worms. Tim didn't blame him; Miki's history was disturbing at best.

The week continued at a tense pace. None of the kids bothered with trying to go to school. Tim could tell Alfred was annoyed with this since he really only sat in front of the TV all with Sari. The teen knew the old butler would let it slide if he'd been working but doing nothing was forcing him to nag Tim about going. Tim refused saying that he was working on finding 'A', the old man just wasn't seeing it. Alfred gave a sarcastic remark and moved on.

By Saturday the Manor was tenser than Tim had ever felt it being before. It didn't help when Clark stopped by.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked as he entered the kitchen to see the hero (in civvies since he was in the Manor not the cave) sitting at the table with Bruce. Sari and Miki came in behind him. Sari sat down next Clark not caring who he was while Miki pulled himself into a cupboard. Clark stared at the silent boy's strange actions then looked at Bruce who shrugged. Miki stared at Clark from the open cupboard and Tim was pretty sure he was figuring out who Clark was.

"The Tower received an interesting message," Clark said. Tim sat down next to Sari as the man handed him a printout. The dark haired girl read the message over his shoulder.

_If the Justice League ever decides it needs a new and reputation ruining case to handle I would recommend looking into the lives of the Wayne spare and company. It won't even be that hard, they documented it for you! Ask about the Book._

_-A_

"What's the Book?" Clark asked.

"A diary," Sari responded. It was impossible to tell if she knew exactly who she was talking to, not that it would ever matter. Sari could be talking to Darkseid and not ever care.

"A diary?" Bruce asked.

"Everything we ever did as a group," Tim said leaning back giving off fake casualness.

"Like?" Clark probed. The two teens glanced at each other.

"We can't tell you," Sari said.

"Why not?" Clark asked.

"You're heroes," Sari replied as if that answered everything. Clark looked confused and Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Your moral standards wouldn't let us just walk away."

"What do you mean?" Clark asked.

"We aren't good people," came a new voice from the door. They all turned to see Traci leaning against the doorframe, Iphone in hand. She addressed Sari and Tim with her next remark. "Toby called."

"Why?" Tim asked roughly arms crossing.

"He's here," she replied. Tim immediately felt his temper flare at the thought of the boy. He stood up from the table and left the kitchen, pausing only to shut the cabinet door, hiding Miki from view. He and the girls made their way to the front door together. He didn't know if the other two had followed.

Tim threw open the door and walked out onto the porch eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the red head leaning against a sleek black Porsche. Toby was dressed in blue jeans and a zip up jacket. Everything was designer.

"Well, well, well," he threw out in a mocking tone. "If it isn't the Wayne spare."

"What the hell do you want Toby?" Tim spat as he walked down the five steps towards the front drive. "You know you're not welcome here."

"Chill, Tim," Toby said his voice growing cool. "Just wanted to say hi."

"Then get high?" Tim said watching with some satisfaction as Toby tensed.

"I'm clean," he said forcing a smile on his face.

"Yeah, whatever," Tim replied.

"When did you get back?" Sari asked coming up behind him.

"A week ago," Toby said. "I need to talk to you guys."

"About what?" Tim growled.

"A," Toby said simply and now it was Tim's turn to tense up.

"You got messages too, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, I did."

"Toby?" Traci said suddenly joining the group. When he looked at her she continued. "Do your parents know your back?" He shook his head and Tim instantly turned around with a small groan.

"I'll tell Alfred to fix up another room."

* * *

Tim walked towards the kitchen only now remembering where Miki was. Alfred had set Toby up in a room and while the boy pulled a bag out of his car and put his stuff away, Tim and the girls had gone back to the living room.

He'd had to tell Bruce about Toby staying there, which was nerve racking at best. Tim had easily, and correctly, deduced the Bruce would be none too pleased about the influx of teenagers in his home. Tim was now working on a two week deadline before Bruce permanently stepped in. Not wanting his past to be dredged up by his mentor Tim resolved to work a little harder on the case.

He wasn't sure he wasn't pulling his usual work ethic. Maybe it was because he knew that some of their secrets really should just stay buried. He wondered if going back through the Book with the others would bring some more things to light. It was rather a scary thought.

When he reached the kitchen, Tim froze in the doorway. Toby was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the cabinet Miki was still inside. The red head was talking to him softly but he couldn't hear what he was saying. Toby had a box of Coco Puffs between them and would hand some to Miki every now and then. Coco Puffs had always been Miki's favorite. Tim was surprised Toby remembered that.

Tim watched as Miki crawled out of the cabinet to sit just in front of Toby who continued to talk softly. Every now and then Miki would nod or shake his head. Tim felt himself smile when Miki did.

He turned and left, not having the heart to interrupt.

* * *

Well, there ya go. Kinda short but it was all could get for this chapter. Not entirely sure what the next chapter is going to look like, but hopefully it'll be a bit longer.


	8. Searching

Hey guys! Here's an update. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Tim really concentrated the next day. He and Sari had gone down to the Cave to use the super computer while the others were distracted with whatever upstairs. Both Bruce and Dick were out and Alfred was doing who knew what. The only one he really trusted in the cave was Sari; she wasn't as insane.

Tim pulled up the Book on the screen and together they went through it, page by page. It wasn't long as it was actually pretty vague on some points and usually not in full sentences. When they'd finished the one hundred page nightmare, Sari let out a low whistle.

"Damn," she said. "I'd forgotten about some of this stuff. We were terrible!"

"Yeah," Tim said. "We were."

"You okay Tim?" she asked noting his quiet demeanor.

"I was just thinking," he said. "You know how Miki just went silent one day?"

"Um, kinda hard not to know," she said while pinning him with a weird look.

"Well, did you ever know why? Cause I never got a straight answer."

"No not really," she said thoughtfully. "Why? You think it could have something to do with 'A'?"

"Maybe," he replied. "It could have nothing to do with it but I got the explanation from Toby."

"He and Miki were really close," Sari continued. "Toby might have lied about the whole mental health thing that runs through the family to cover up the real reason he went silent. What could be that bad?"

"Something Toby knew about," Tim said. "Either about Miki or about the both of them. We know Toby has a tendency to lie to everyone and cover things up to save his own ass."

"Ali?"

"I don't know if he had a hand in her disappearance or not," Tim said. "But it's possible. Remember how Toby and Miki left right after she did?"

"We all left Tim," Sari pointed out.

"They left first," he argued. Sari just shook her head at him.

"It's not good enough," she said. "And you can't confront Toby or Miki until you have more than a theory. If you're right you don't want to tip them off." Tim had to agree. He hated this, how this case was causing him to make more mistakes than he usually would. How he didn't want to dig into the past so he more or less left it alone until he had to cover his own ass from the others.

He didn't like lying to Bruce and Dick but he couldn't guarantee how they would react to his past. There were things they didn't know and things he didn't want to tell them. He didn't want to talk about Ali or the book or the things that were left out of the book. Because things were left out. There had been and still were secrets within secrets in this group. Everyone was lying to each other about something and they were all lying to the outside world about everything else. Nothing was concrete with any of them.

It was frustrating and made his job that much harder. He was almost positive that to find 'A' he had to figure out what had happened to Ali. Hell, it was possible that it was Ali doing all this. He was worried and he didn't think he'd make his two week deadline. This wasn't good.

"What now?" Sari asked breaking into his thoughts.

"We'll just have to play the game," he said and she smirked. This was, after all, her favorite pastime.

* * *

The two walked up the stairs to the Manor and into the hallway to find Dick leaning against the doorway to the living room the teenagers had taken over, arms crossed and a frown firmly in place. Tim heard screaming from Toby and Traci. The two of them were fighting and whatever it was about had Dick preferring to listen rather than stop it. Tim glanced at Sari and then the two joined the man at the doorway.

Miki was sitting on the couch face frozen in its usual blankness while Toby and Traci were on their feet shouting at each other.

"Can't believe you would blame this entire thing on me!" he shouted.

"You were the one who started it!" she screamed at him.

"And you continued it! You let her walk out the door!"

"So did you!" They paused after that not entirely sure how to continue the fight and Miki took the silence as an opportunity to leave. Sari followed him. Toby and Traci glanced at the door finally realizing they had an audience.

"What happened that night?" Dick asked suddenly his face rather cold. When the two didn't answer he turned towards Tim, who did.

"Toby and Traci got into it with Ali," he said. "She left in a hurry and then everyone else left for home. The next day her mom called everyone saying she never came home." Dick nodded and made a gesture for Tim to follow him. He led the teen to Bruce's study, the closest room and shut the door.

"What else happened that night?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tim said. Dick was searching for answers just as he was but was going for a different type.

"Don't lie to me Tim," he growled.

"I'm not," he said defensively. "That's what happened."

"What were they fighting about?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Sari and I walked in halfway through," he said. "Miki, Toby, Tracy, and Ali are the only ones who know."

"How's your investigation going?" he asked switching gears. Tim gave a one shoulder shrug.

"All right," he said.

"Bruce told me you haven't really been working on it," Dick told him and Tim suddenly found the floor real interesting. "Said he gave you a two week deadline before he stepped in and took over. Why aren't you focusing Tim? It's not like you to blow off a case." Tim shrugged again.

"I don't know," he said.

"Seems like you don't know a lot of things Timmy." His head snapped up at that. He mustered a glare before ignoring it and looking away again.

"It's just hard," he said. "To drag it all up again."

"Drag what up again?" Dick asked his voice going a bit softer. Tim paused to regain his senses. Dick was always pretty good at getting him to talk about what was going on with him. He knew how to play with younger boy's feelings and pride to get him to spill, always with good intentions though.

"Just everything," he said.

"Everything with your old friends?" Tim nodded.

"We weren't the best of people."

"Doesn't matter what you were then Timmy," Dick said laying a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "It only matters what you are now."

"But the past does matter, Dick," he argued.

"Maybe," Dick said. "But you've put the past behind you once. And trust me, it's a bit easier the second time." Tim nodded, not entirely sure how to respond to that advice.

Dick and Bruce were searching for answers about what he was hiding. He was searching for the person blackmailing them and who was responsible for Ali's disappearance. Hell, even the kids in the Manor screaming at each other and hiding in closets were searching for something. They were all searching for something.

And Tim knew why too. He wasn't going to lie to himself. If Ali hadn't disappeared he probably wouldn't be Robin because there wouldn't have been a reason for them to fall apart. Sure the relationships would have been strained, they probably wouldn't trust each other at all but they would still be together. Would still be owning the school and tearing other people done. Would still be little monsters. Batman would still be nothing more than a hobby.

All of them together were a disaster waiting to happen because they all brought out the worst in each other. They felt invincible when they were together, even now to some extent. Sari and Traci probably wouldn't have been that awful to Wonder Girl if he hadn't been there. They knew they could get away with it while they attached themselves to him because he wouldn't react. He was too used to it, accepting of it even.

The teens were all searching for something. Because they all had one very common thing between them. Guilt. They all held secrets from each other and with each other. They had all lied and destroyed other people. They'd even driven a girl to suicide once. They were all guilty. And they had all just let her leave that night. No one had gone after Ali after she'd stormed out. One had bothered to try to set things right. They'd just let her leave.


	9. Truth Hunting

Hey guys! Sorry for the really long wait. I was out of town for three weeks with no fanfiction access and while I'd like to say I was writing, I really wasn't. Truth be told it was nice to have the break, but now I'm back and ready to continue!

Also this is the second to last chapter of this story. I know sad right. I've already written the other one so I'll post that tomorrow. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Batman characters.

* * *

Sari managed to sneak out of Wayne Manor fairly easily. Everyone was too busy with the latest fight that erupted to mind her much and she quickly made her way off the grounds and down the road to Ali's old home. It was just as creepy as it had been when she and Tim had been there before going to get the others.

She couldn't necessarily say why she felt the need to come here; she just felt she had to. She felt they were missing something. It seemed that this wasn't about the book to her. It was about them. Not exposing secrets but something else. More like revenge for something they had done.

She stood in the grand entrance trying to work herself up to going where she thought she needed to go. She bounded down the hallway under the grand staircase to where they'd always hung out. A play room of sorts, with a large screen TV, video games, pool table, and other things required for parties. It had long been emptied but she could still say where everything once stood.

She entered the room with white walls and carpets and went instantly to the far wall, behind the bar. Crouching down she opened the small hatch she knew was there. It was supposed to be used as a mini wine cellar, so you didn't have to go all the way downstairs; quite a trek in a place like this. However, it was never used. She opened the small door and saw a small tape, like the one from a camcorder.

Miki used to be permanently attached to his camcorder, she recalled. What was this doing here?

She knew that this 'A' person knew them very well. It wasn't inconceivable that this person knew not only the secrets in the book but the ones they'd never written down. Ali had once confessed that this was the perfect place to hide things because nobody felt the need to open the door but her.

It seemed 'A' liked this hiding spot too. She grabbed the tape then swiftly made her way back to Wayne Manor, sneaking up to her room after borrowing one of the camcorders from the AV closet in the media room. She plugged the camcorder into the TV, shoved the tape in, and pressed play.

The tape opened up to Toby lying on the grass of someone's yard. She was pretty sure it was Ali's because she could see the trees in the background. There was a forest with a small clearing at the back of the Hamilton's property. Toby was young, maybe twelve. This was from before he was sent away then. The proof of that came when she saw him light a joint.

She rolled her eyes and fast forwarded. She stopped when she saw the playroom, she'd just been in. It was a shot of Ali, Toby, and Traci. Miki would be the one behind the camera.

They were arguing. Sari turned up the sound.

"-can't believe you would do that!" Toby was mid shout. The camera was angled upwards, as if Miki was on the floor, or holding it at his hip. She wondered if the other three had even known it was on.

"Why not?" Ali answered, snidely. "Did you really expect me to keep something like that a secret and not use it?"

"Because he trusts you," Toby said. "Because you're his friend."

"Think about that," she answered, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Do you really want to die for him?" Sari was shocked. What the hell were they talking about? Based on the confused look on Traci's face as she stood in the background, she had no idea what was happening either.

"You can't do this!" Toby shouted, his voice nearing a desperation she hadn't known was possible. "You honestly think _he_ will let you get away with this? And what about Tim? What do you think he'll do?"

Sari was beyond confused at this point. What were they talking about? This didn't make any sense. Ali didn't seem daunted though.

"What can he do?" she said. "I'm doing this whether you like it or not."

"Why?" Toby asked. "Why would you want to? What's in for you?"

"Complete and total freedom," she replied. "Think about it. We could control Gotham." Traci's expression went from plain confused to confused and excited. The notion of being able to control Gotham was probably her dream come true. Sari felt uneasy. How could Ali possibly have that kind of control? The conversation came to an erupt halt when she and Tim entered the room, Big Gulps in their hands and laughing at some joke she couldn't remember. The camera shut off.

The next shot was of a room at Toby's manor, about a mile from Ali's. This she remembered. But she didn't remember Miki filming it. She suddenly felt a distinct amount of dread at the prospect of the boy filming them when they didn't know. How much dirt did he collect?

It was the fight. The last fight they'd ever had before Ali disappeared. Sari watched as it played out in front of her, the screaming, Toby's anger-twisted face, her and Tim's confusion as to why this was happening, and Ali as she stormed out. Then she and Tim left, uncomfortable with the aftermath of the fight between two people they were already starting to grow distant from.

Then she saw Traci leave. And that was when she saw something that froze her blood. Toby turned directly to the camera and spoke to the person standing behind it.

"You ready Miki?" he asked. Sari had known for a fact that Miki had already started to go quiet at that point. He'd rarely talk and the group had grown accustomed to asking him only yes or no questions. She remembered that either Toby or Tim was always with him because Miki just stopped caring about defending himself. So she was shocked when she heard his voice.

"Yeah," he said. "Everything's ready."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Toby asked. "I mean, it's Arkham." What? They'd planned on Miki going to Arkham? What the hell!? Why?

"Better Arkham than with _them_," Miki replied. Toby just nodded. The camera shut off. The tape ended there and Sari just sat in a shocked silence, thinking.

Ali had thought she'd had some way of controlling Gotham. Miki had planned on Arkham. Toby had wanted to stop Ali. Toby seemed to think that Tim would have seriously hurt Ali if she did whatever she'd planned to do.

It suddenly dawned on Sari on what she'd just seen. Did Ali know who Batman really was? But Tim hadn't even been Robin at the time. But the boy had known about the vigilante's identity. Tim had told her all about it while they were in Titan's Tower, trying to pass the time and answer some questions. How had Ali figured it out? And more importantly what had she planned on doing with that information that had had Toby so up in arms?

Sari tore the tape from camcorder and ran from the room as fast as she could. She needed Tim. He would know. He always knew. She found him in the kitchen arms crossed and glaring at the floor. Wayne and that other guy, the guy from the JLA, were there too.

"Tim!" she almost screamed as she entered the room sliding to a halt just inside the door. She knew she looked frantic. Tim's head snapped up at her scream. "You need to see this," she panted then looked at the other two. "All of you."

"What is it?" Wayne asked, suddenly very interested.

"Ali knew," she said.

"Knew what?" Tim asked. Sari widened her eyes and looked pointedly at Wayne. Tim took the hint immediately and they were down in that freezing cold cave mere minutes later watching the tape on a movie theater sized screen.

"How did she find out?" the guy asked after the tape was over.

"I have no idea," Tim replied.

"What would she have done?" Wayne asked. "If she could do anything at all."

"Ali was ruthless," Sari told him. "She was smart and she was rich. She knew Gotham's elite as well as anyone could. She could have done anything. She could have destroyed everyone you knew, whether they were trusted or not."

"Blackmail," Tim said. "Ali's mom knew everything about everyone and she was a gossip. Ali knew secrets, things other people would desperately try to hide."

"If Ali controlled Gotham's elite, or even just their kids, she could control a great deal of the city," Sari finished her eyes glazing over as she thought of the possibility. With that type of control, they could have gotten away with anything. Hell, they could have gotten away with murder.

"Sari!" came Tim's shout, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Would you stop daydreaming about city wide domination?"

"Sorry," she said, not sorry at all. "But you have to admit, it would have been one hell of a ride to be able to control Gotham like that. We could have gotten away with anything!"

"Is that all you can think about?" the guy Sari didn't know asked. "Getting away with murder, blackmail, and whatever else you happen to dream up?"

"You're not from around Gotham are you?" she asked. The guy gave her a weird look then shook his head no. "Well, if you were you'd know that Gotham is half controlled by the elite and half controlled by the mob. Most of the time they tend to be one and the same. Climbing the social ladder can be a deadly experience and thus takes a lot of balls to do. If you control the elite you could potentially control the entire city from the streets to the next DA election. Knowing the Batman's identity would just be the icing on the cake. He could threaten all he wanted but if you control the city you could get away with anything, no matter how many times he busted through your window."

Tim was vaguely amused to see Clark's jaw go a little slack as he processed exactly what this girl was telling him a twelve year old could accomplish in a city as rough as Gotham. Then his eyes went a little dark as he thought of the type of person that required. Tim doubted Clark had seen much of that type of person. Even with the Toyman proving that those type of kids existed at that young of an age.

Sari ignored the man's reaction and turned back to Tim.

"So what now?" she asked.

"We talk to Miki and Toby," Tim said. "Miki's been faking crazy all these years. I want to know why."


	10. Cowardly Promises

When the quartet reached the living room where they had left the other three kids they found it empty. A camcorder, another borrowed from the AV closet, was on the coffee table hooked up to the plasma TV. It was paused on a shot of Miki sitting on the couch they were looking at. Tim knew instantly what the video would be of. None of them had ever been any good at fessing up.

"Cowards," Sari all but spat.

"Like you would be any braver," Tim retorted taking a seat on the couch and pressing play. Sari joined him while Clark and Bruce stood behind them. Clark was over to discuss yet another message that went to the Watchtower from 'A'. It hadn't been a pleasant conversation. He had no idea where Dick was.

Miki was sitting in the middle of the couch and it was him who started talking, his voice hoarse from disuse.

"Hey Timmy, Sari," he said. "We aren't the bravest of people, but we weren't sure if you would let us go after we told you everything. This way we have at least a chance, even though we know you could find us in two seconds flat. We aren't you; we aren't heroes.

"But we're not the monsters people remember us being either. Ali discovered Batman's identity. We don't know how and we didn't even know who it was until you were adopted. We knew you were the new Robin but we had no idea who Batman was.

"As you can see I'm not mute, nor am I entirely crazy. I planned on going to Arkham as a failsafe to the plan we had devised. Ali tried to bring Toby into her plan to blackmail and control every influential member of Gotham's elite. Toby agreed at first, but Ali turned sick, violent. She was planning on dangling Batman's identity in front of his enemies to control them as well. She planned to start a war that would leave the field clear for her eventual takeover when she was older.

"Toby decided to stop her. By that time she'd already contacted the Joker with a deal. Certain dead people, for a name. His name. Robin had yet to be killed and the Joker was just as in the dark as anyone else. But after Robin's death, the deal was terminated. We never knew who backed out first.

"Ali made a lot of contacts and in the end was able to play everyone off each other with the information she knew and promised, but ultimately never delivered. Ali found out about the plan to stop her takeover and everything fell apart. When she left that night, Traci followed her on Toby's four wheeler, catching up with her and stopping her from reaching her home. We met up with them a few minutes later.

"I'm sure you can figure out what happened after that. But she was alive when we left and she's alive today. Whether her family knows or not, we're not certain of. But I can tell you now that she's not 'A'. We are.

"I went to Arkham so that I could get away from home. You know what it was like for me there. I needed a way out and infiltrating Arkham was perfect. We needed an ear and in their drug induced babbling certain truths were slipped. Toby kept an eye on her people in Europe and Traci kept an eye on the elite in Gotham. We followed Ali's progress. What she was doing. What she was planning. You know enough about this world to know that age doesn't really matter if the person's smart enough to do it.

"You'd be surprised at how many people Ali has in her pocket. But Ali is planning something, and we're still working on figuring it out. We needed a reason to come together. We needed a reason for me to get out of Arkham. I couldn't just miraculously recover. That left you. We also needed the book in a safer location than Sari's sock drawer but we didn't have the heart to steal it and we knew she wouldn't hand it over to any of us. Again that left you.

"So we took our knowledge of each other and our past and we made this plan. We also felt that you deserved the truth, about what happened and what we were doing. You weren't the only one to feel something about the things we did, the people we hurt.

"We wanted you to know that we did care and that we recognized the need for Payback just as much as you did. You're not the only one who cares about this city Tim. Our city, filled with our people. The good, the bad, and the downright nasty. We do care which is why we're doing this. The people of this city deserve better than Ali and whatever foul thing she thinks up next. They deserve to chose for themselves who gets the power and the control.

"They deserve more than the mob and bribery. Which is where you come in. We wish you luck in whatever it is you do. I wish we could be friends you two, but life seems to be taking us in another direction. So we wish you luck and we hope you can forgive us." Miki stood then and shut off the camera. Tim didn't even register when Sari ran from the room.

* * *

"Tim, are you going to be okay?" Bruce asked. Clark had left feeling it wasn't his place to be there. Tim was standing in the front entrance waiting for Sari. He knew her well, knew she would leave soon. And he knew she would think it cowardly to leave any other way than through the front door.

"I'll be fine," he replied. "It's not like I shouldn't have expected this. Ali was ruthless, unpredictable, and uncontrollable even then. She was in a convenient position to blackmail or destroy anyone that stood in her way. I'd seen her do it many times. I can't even imagine what she'd be like now, with that many contacts."

"How much of a problem do you think she'll be?" Bruce asked.

"Not one we need to worry about," Tim answered. "The others will take care of her. They have so far." Bruce just nodded, and then suddenly turned his head. Tim followed his eye line to see Sari coming down the stairs, backpack slung over one shoulder. She bounded down and crossed the front entryway to stand directly in front of him.

"I'm leaving," she said bluntly.

"To where?" he asked.

"I'm going to find our friends, and I'm going to help them," she said.

"That's not a good idea, Sari," he replied. "People will come searching for you, all of you, you can't just disappear." Sari shook her head at him.

"We'll be fine, Tim," she said. "We're smart enough to avoid the cops, and none of us have ever been very close with anybody other than each other. They won't know where to start." Tim didn't answer. He didn't know what to say to that. It wasn't like she really wanted her here and even though he doubted the good feelings towards them would last, he knew Sari was determined to bring Ali down.

"You never did like Ali," he said.

"No I didn't," she said. "She needs to be stopped. We know her better than anyone, we know what she'll be capable of she isn't stopped. Look at the amount of chaos she's already brought done on us. Imagine what could happen if she decides to team up with the Joker." Tim didn't even want to think of that possibility so he simply nodded his head and she hugged him. He hugged her back.

"Good luck Sari," he whispered.

"You too," she whispered back. With that she pulled away and left through the double doors of the Manor, swiftly disappearing down the path. Tim shook his head and smiled. This was just so wrong. They were supposed to have been friends forever, now he was a vigilante and his old friends were hunting down a girl he'd helped rise to power.

It couldn't be denied that they'd all helped Ali gain those contacts and develop that ruthless streak. They'd all been cowards, playing a grown up game in a dangerous city. Ali had left them with two very distinct legacies.

The legacy they were ashamed of. A legacy of bullies, lies, criminals, and viciousness.

Then there was the legacy they clung to. One of superheroes, good deeds, and friends. One of freedom and a better life than the one they'd left behind. In the end it couldn't be denied which one they preferred, which one they needed, which one they wanted the world to know about. None of them wanted to die the petty little brats they'd been when they'd ruled the junior elites and even a good deal of the senior ones. No, they'd much rather die a proud hero and with all their cowardly promises.

* * *

_Timmi-Tim Tim-Tim!_

_Hide your book. Hide your secrets._

_Hide your friends and your family._

_Ali's coming to play._

_-A_


End file.
